Lakewood Orthodox leader jumps into New Jersey Assembly race
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LAKEWOOD – Rabbi Avi Schnall, a powerful leader in the township’s Orthodox community, has jumped into the race for the 30th Assembly District — a move that could boost that Jewish community’s voice in Trenton, observers said.
Schnall, 39, will replace former Lakewood Mayor Marta Harrison as one of two Democratic nominees for the district’s two Assembly seats currently held by Republicans Sean Kean and Robert Thomson.
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“I think there are enough people in the district who know who I am,” said Schnall, who serves as director of the New Jersey office of Agudath Israel of America in Lakewood. “I have accomplished a lot and people will vote for results.”
The late move is being seen as a chance for the growing Jewish sect to gain more state-level power. But it’s also creating a challenge for the Lakewood Vaad, the Orthodox stronghold that has supported the Republican incumbents in the past.
“The Vaad is open to both parties, we always support those candidates we thought would represent the Lakewood challenges and issues,” said Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, spokesperson for the Vaad. “The Vaad has not made up their mind at this moment, we are open to hearing all of the candidates and learn their positions.”
Harrison, who along with Democratic Challenger Sal Frascino, won the Democratic primary for the 30th district seats in June, dropped out of the race several weeks ago citing personal reasons.
Members of the Monmouth and Ocean county Democratic committees met last month to appoint a replacement for Harrison and chose Schnall.
“There was an opening and it was close to the deadline. I had mulled the idea for a few months in the past and I decided not to join then,” Schnall said about a potential earlier primary run. “But now I jumped in at the last minute, I took the plunge and we will see where it goes.”
Harrison, who served on the Township Committee from 1998 to 2003 – including a 2001 stint as mayor – said Schnall was a unanimous choice.
“We are happy that we have such a well-qualified person,” Harrison said. “He is a strong candidate and well-known in Lakewood and well known in Trenton and I think that gives him an advantage.”
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Schnall and Frascino have their work cut out for them as they take on incumbents Kean and Thomson in the majority Republican district that stretches from Lakewood and Point Pleasant to the south, Wall Township to the east and north to Farmingdale.
Kean has held his seat since 2012, while Thomson first took his post in 2017.
The 30th Legislative district has nearly twice as many registered Republicans, 63,444, as Democrats, 34,659. However, the largest block of voters, 68,776, are unaffiliated.
The growing Orthodox community in Lakewood, as well as nearby Jackson, Wall and Howell, may give Schnall an advantage as a leader in that community.
“I think it is very important that every community is represented,” Schnall said when asked about Orthodox influence. “It is important to have someone from the majority party, there is an infrastructure need, there is taxes. A lot of infrastructure, the 30th district has not gotten their fair share.”
Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles, a Democrat, welcomed Schnall’s candidacy as both a local leader and Orthodox voice.
“I know a lot of folks in the community are irritated because they feel they are not represented at the state level,” Coles said. “Any group who forms a majority in an area and doesn’t have representation deserves representation and I respect it.”
Schnall, who is a married father of three, said he is taking a leave of absence from his post at Agudath Israel of America and will decide after the election if he will return to the job.
“I have taken off for the campaign and after victory we will see where it goes from there.,” he said.
Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of three books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ elections: Orthodox leader joins assembly race in 30th District
